The Process
| Define Information Need |
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| Locate and Access Information |
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| Evaluate Information |
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| Manage and Organise Information |
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| Use and Communicate Information |
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Define Information Need
Information is available in Paper, Audio-visual, or Digital formats.
Draw an “Enquiry Map”
- Get a piece of Blank Paper
- Write down the First Term you thought about
- Add two or more Branches to the First Term
- Add more Branches further down the level if necessary
- At the end of the Branches, there will be Actions (circle them for easy identification)
- See Appendix for an example of an Enquiry Map
Identify the Key Terms and authors from the Enquiry Map
Consider synonyms and alternatives spellings for the Key Terms
Use “AND”, “OR”, “NOT”, “?” (Wild Card) when executing the search
Fine-tune the search after Review of the results
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Locate and Access Information
Categories of Information Sources
Libraries |
Internet |
Cruising Association Library
- Catalogue
- Magazine / Journal Indexes
- Regional Files
- Members’ Logs
- C-map CM-93/3 Electronic Chart Database
- Navionics Electronic Chart Database
- CD-ROMs
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Cruising Association Website
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Other Libraries
- Catalogues
- Indexes
- Abstracts
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World Wide Web *
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* Other World Wide Web information sources:
British library
http://www.bl.uk/
National Maritime Museum (The Caird Library)
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/nav.005002002
National Register of Archives
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/
UK Public Libraries http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/square/ac940/ukpublib.html
What’s on in London Libraries
http://www.londonlibraries.org.uk/will/libSearch.aspx
Worldwide Libraries
http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/
World Museums
http://icom.museum/vlmp/index.html
Types of Information Sources
- Books
- Charts
- Magazine / Journal articles
- Conference / Meeting minutes
- Official publications e.g. Notices to Mariners
- Web pages e.g. CA Section page, CA Mediterranean Section Pilot Updates, online magazines, e-books
- Reference materials e.g. yearbooks, directories, trade publications
General Guidelines for Accessing Information
- Browse a collection using its Classification scheme if you know the subject category of your enquiry
- Search the catalogue if you are unsure of the subject category of your enquiry
- Contact the Information Providers to obtain the item(s) required
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Evaluate Information
Categories |
Questions |
Who |
Who is the Information Provider? E.g. private individual, organisations |
Where
(Aid judgement on the Reliability and Target Audience) |
Where is the information held?
Where is the provider based?
Where is their country of origin?
On the World Wide Web:
‘org’ – non-profit organisations
‘edu’ / ‘ac’ – academic
‘co’ / ‘com’ – business
‘gov’ – government
‘uk’ – country of origin |
Why |
Why is the information provided?
Or what is the Purpose? E.g. financial gain, individual opinions (possibly biased) |
When
(Good information sources are kept current) |
When is the information provided and last updated? |
Reference or Bibliography
(Most reputable sources will have referenced their work) |
Beware of extreme views
On the World Wide Web:
- Is there web links to other Reputable Sites?
- Beware of flashy websites as plain text tends to be more reliable and informative
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Other |
When the organisation is the information provider:
- Find out about their philosophy or background from e.g. ‘about us’
Check the credentials of authors:
- Look for a biography; author’s background; and where they gained their expertise (contact the authors for this information if necessary)
Accountability:
- Find out about the organisation or institution who is responsible for the site and are accountable for the content if there is no author
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Manage and Organise Information
Take note of the Author and Title or Website Name and Address of any resources you have read to create your Bibliography for your enquiry
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Use and Communicate Information
Beware of Plagiarism
- If you plagiarise, you risk your own Credibility
- Examples of plagiarism: collusion, copy and paste, word switch, misinterpreting common knowledge, concealing sources, self plagiarism
- Ways to avoid plagiarism: paraphrasing, quoting, referencing and citing
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Appendix – Example of Enquiry Map
| RATs (Librarian contacted RATs and
they suggest yard insurance might provice necessary cover) |
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Library (Librarian supplied alternative insurers’ details to make contact)
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Haven Knox-Jonson (Insisted on a survey even though the boat is stripped bare for refurbishment) |
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Basic insurance for wooden sailing |
boat laid-up ashore undergoing refit |
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| Fire cover |
Third Party cover? |
(Courtesy of Ken Marsden)
Page created 29 March 2006
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